Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

“A Day On, Not a Day Off”

Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and many enjoy the day free from work and school. However, in tribute to his life’s work of trying to better our communities, this day is also dedicated to enjoying a day “on” – with community service and community engagement. Celebrated on the third Monday of January each year, MLK Day is an American holiday that challenges people, organizations, and communities to use their day off to work on a project together, volunteer, and serve.

What are you doing for others?

Dr. King spoke many times about the importance of working together to serve others and better the communities in which we live, and today is a way to continue the inspiration and legacy his vision created. Large and small organizations alike have been creating volunteer and service programs and encouraging their employees to take the day off to work in shelters, help with community cleanup, collect for food drives, take up donations, and anything else that will help enrich our communities.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative. Serve.gov and the Corporation for National & Community Service document some the projects that the First Family have helped with. The President and his family also challenge Americans to get involved in any way they can.

And the project doesn’t have to be huge! Start small. Pick up groceries for a family in need, shovel snow for your neighbors, volunteer at a food kitchen, donate clothing…the possibilities are endless. Take it from the 21st Annual Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service – Organizations, groups of any kind, and even individuals can bring together the community, discuss pressing needs and organize a day of service projects.

Want to learn more about how you can help? NationalService.org offers ideas, lesson plans, and other tools to get involved.

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